The 30 Best Disco Songs That Every Millennial Should Know

Random YouTube-Accessible Memories

It’s been nearly 40 years since Carl Douglas kung-fu fought his way to the top of the Billboard charts, and the world is once again in the throes of disco fever — and it doesn’t exactly sound like doing the “Y.M.C.A.” at the prom. Huge pop artists like Robin Thicke (“Give It My Way”), Bruno Mars (“Treasure”), and Justin Timberlake (“Take Back the Night”) ride the velvet rope where disco met soul, while revisionists like Escort and Midnight Magic dive headfirst into luxurious pools of retro glitter. In the electronic underground, artists like Lindstrøm, Todd Terje, and labels like Italians Do It better and 100% Silk follow sleeker, darker corridors; while post-punkers like Savages and The Rapture spotlight pointier, pokier paths. Skream, once dubstep’s most spartan producer, jumped on board the love rollercoaster with his recent foray into “neo-disco,” and Arcade Fire’s recent “Reflektor” reflects like a mirror ball. And it goes without saying that the most anticipated record of the year, Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, got more than lucky thanks to an assist from Chic’s Nile Rodgers.

With all that in mind, here’s the 30 songs that shaped the sound of disco in the YouTube era. Don’t stop ’til you get enough.